The low-income immigrant residents of Koreatown in Los Angeles are facing a severe
housing crisis that resulted from the dramatic gentrification process that has taken place at a
high rate over the last five years. Due to the booming real estate market in Koreatown, low-
income residents, who make up 70 percent of the resident population, are facing illegal rent
increases, unfair evictions and are enduring filthy and dangerous living conditions at
unprecedented levels. A large majority of these residents are immigrants from Korea,
Mexico, Central America, Bangladesh and other South Asian nations. These immigrant
residents have little or no access to critical low-cost legal services to help them with their
most basic housing-related issues and questions.
To address this growing need, KABA has joined the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles,
Eviction Defense Network, Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance, South Asian Network,
and Koreatown Youth and Community Center to form the Koreatown Tenants' Defense
Network (KTDN). The goals of KTDN are to educate Koreatown residents of their rights as
tenants, and to provide ethnically-, culturally- and linguistically-appropriate legal assistance
for housing-related issues.
Since January, KTDN has conducted capacity-filled monthly clinics to offer free legal
assistance to Koreatown tenants with housing issues and questions. KTDN volunteers have
advised clients on pressing questions about eviction notices, security deposits and unsafe
living conditions.
KTDN has attracted members from all communities within Koreatown through outreach
materials printed in Korean, English, Spanish, Bangla and Hindi. And each month,
volunteer attorneys and law students from KABA have joined with their community
partners to provide legal advice, referrals and follow-up assistance to clients.
For more information about the clinic or to find out about volunteer opportunities, please
contact Paul Park at president-elect@kabasocal.org.